Upcoming Global Weekends

Living in America: Voices of the Silk Road

Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 12-5 pm.
Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
Grand Gallery and other Halls
Free with Museum admission

In conjunction with the exhibition Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World, this weekend program features performances, conversations, and workshops that evoke the cultural exchanges along and off the ancient Silk Road. Julian Kytasty, Ukrainian bandurist and Kaoru Watanabe, Japanese fue musician, perform and coordinate string, voice, and flute influences from the Silk Road. Joining them will be Kyrgyz traditional musician Kudabay Avyshov, who plays a flute used to herd sheep; Tibetan folk singer Jampa Youden; and Uzbek singer Muhabat Shamayeva, who will perform Bukharan Jewish music.

Arab storyteller Inea Bushnaq and Chinese folk paper cutter, Ming Liang Lu will offer activities for the entire family. Chinese face painting by members of Chinese Theatre Works will delight young visitors.

The Sunday program will include performances by the Tenri Gagaku Music Society of New York, the oldest traditional orchestral music with roots in the Silk Road period; Chinese Theatre Works with flying fairy music and dance, and the Bukharan Jewish group Maqam, formerly from Uzbekistan and now based in Queens, New York.

For details, call 212-769-5315 or visit amnh.org/livingvoices.

This program is supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

The new exhibition Traveling the Silk Road transports visitors back to one of the greatest trading routes in human history, showcasing the goods, peoples, technologies, and cultures from four representative cities: Xi'an, China's Tang Dynasty capital; Turfan, a verdant oasis; Samarkand, home of prosperous merchants; and ancient Baghdad, a hub of scholarship and commerce.

The Presenting Sponsor of Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World is Metlife Foundation.

Additional support has been provided by Mary and David Solomon.

The Silk Road Project residency is generously supported by Rosalind P. Walter.

The Message Behind the Music

Sunday, February 21, 1-5 pm.
Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
Free with Museum admission

The Message Behind the Music will explore the transformative power of song and the shifting cultural influences that drive musical styles. The celebration will salute the "message behind the music," featuring an intergenerational group of performers. Broadway actor/singer James Stovall will present a tribute to Paul Robeson; local choirs will perform spirituals and the music of the Civil Rights Movement; IMPACT Repertory Theatre and spoken word artists will present contemporary expressions of social change, accompanied by jazz musician Joey Morant. The performance of Obediah Wright, the artistic director for a special retrospective of the "message music" of R&B icons Gamble and Huff, will feature classic songs from the Sound of Philadelphia repertoire . Just as the words of the Civil Rights anthem"We Shall Overcome" has inspired movements, protests, and conferences for social justice around the globe, this celebration will uplift spirits and encourage world tolerance and peace.

For details, call 212-769-5315 or visit amnh.org/blackhistory.

This event is coproduced by Community Works and the New Heritage Theatre Group under the artistic direction of James Stovall.

Support for Global Weekends is made possible, in part, by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., the Tolan Family, and the family of Frederick H. Leonhardt.